I 



I 




Glass. 



T zi"^ 



Book 'b G £ 



AN 

^;- EULOGY, 

(ON THE LATE 

Keating Lewis Simons, Esq. 

J-RONOUNCED IN ^^ 

ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, 
ON THE TENTH OF SEPTEIS'BERy 1819; 

BV APPOINTMENT OF THE 

aEVOLUTION SOCIETY, 

AND PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST. 



^uit hoc luctuosum suis, acerhum 
patric^f gravt bonis omnibus. — Cicero. 



By JOHN GADSDEN. 

CHARLESTON: 

W. p. YOUNG & SON, PRINT. 

No. ^^%, Broad- Street, 



54, 



AMERICAN REVOLUTION SOCIETY. 

At a s|7e:a?l meeting of the above Society, held on Thursday, 
the 2d ins't. the following resolutions were unanimously adopt- 
ed: 

Whereas it hath ple'^sed "Divine Providence to remove from 
a s?ene of public usefulness and domestic affection, the Ipte 
Colonel KEATING LEWIS SIMONS, in the vigor of his 
age, and the full strength of his faculties. 

Resolvedj That this Society in testimony of their profound 
respect for hs steady integi-ity, his lofty independence, his high 
sen.e of honor, his generous ?nd chivalrous spirit, his solid un- 
derstanding, and his most useful life, will wear crape on the 
left arm for the space of thirty days. 

Resolved, That a member of this Society be requested to 
prepare a Funeral Eulogium, to be (-elivered at such t'me end 
place as he shall appoint, on the character of the deceased. 

Resolved^ That the President do transmit a copy of these re- 
solutions to the venerable parent of the deceased. 

In conformity with the 2d resolution, John Gadsden, Esc^ 
was appointed to deliver the Eulogium. 

Friday^ September o, 1819. 

S(^'^^ V/'s^ Sk^ sJ^^ '^^\^J. ^ia ^■JiaiisaV.i.. ^^ feata^ Wj*^ feat's^ ba(i«i te^^^^^i^ 



MEETING OF THE CHAELE.STON EAR. 

At a Meet'ng of the Members of tlie Charlestcn Bar, licM 
at the Court-House, on the 3d September, 1819, Mr. Thomas 
Parker, Sen. y<fos called to the Chair, when the following Ke- 
jsolutions were unanimously approved and adopted. 

Posthumous Eulogy has been so frequently lavished upon th® 
undeserving, that the admirers of departed worth, with reluc- 
tance, give pi-iblici y to their sentiments. The friends and in- 
timates of those who have ceased to be, nevertheless e.v.perlence 
a melancho y satisfaction in the united utterance of their griefs; 
and when these friends and intimates know that the sound of 
praise is not touched without ."eeling the tone expressed, its vi- 
bration strikes a kindredcordwith'n their bosoms, which evem 
ai't and eioquen.e, upon a baseless foundation, would in vaia 
endeavour to eiicite. Who can forbear to speak ot' those whose 
amiab^eness gladdened society, whose talents served their coun- 
ti"y, whose virtues digniiied their species? Who then can b& 
silent as to him, wdiose recent death has occasioned this meet- 
ing? Those who knew hm, enjoyed the rare felicity of being 
acqua nted with one, whose head was the receptacle of a sound 
understanding, whose soul v/as the teat of honor, ^vhose heart 
w^as the fountain of every moral and generous quality la 
speaking of those who are sanctified by death, who are repos- 
ing upon the bosom of their father and their God, it wereim- 
becoming, it were indecent to resort to the language of ilattery 
The dece?sed had his failins;s, for he Vv^as moi-tal; but without 
sacrificing truth to panegyric, it may confidently be pronounced 
that his failings sprang from a sublimated virtue: he was some- 
times betrayed into exhibitions of warmth ; sometimes, perhaps, 
into ebullitions of prssion; but the fianie which kindled these 
transports was foi^med of no commcn materials; it was aa 
setherial flame, the excitement of high minded sensibility 
which felt a shock I'ke a wound, when it coine in contact witla 
artifice and corruption. 



In that situation, in wh^cli those now assembled, have been 
peculiarly accustomed to regard the deceased, they beheld the 
zealous protector of right, the open foe of wrong , the power- 
ful and ingenious advocate, the learned and skilful Lawyer, 
the sound and candid reasoner, adorned by the courtesy of the 
gentleman and ennobled by the principles of the hero. To be 
deprived of such a man, must be deplored by all: by h-s coun- 
try, for he was a patriot: by his friends, for his attachment to 
them was boundless: by his relatives, for he v/as amiable and 
aifectionate: by his dependants, for he was kind, tender and 
humane. Cherishing these sentiments towards the deceased— 

It is therefore Resolved, By the Members of the Charleston 
Bar, as a testimony of their sorrow for the loss, of their res- 
pect for the talents, and of their reverence for the virtues of 
their deceased Brother, KEATING LEWIS SIMONS, that 
they will v/ear crape upon their left arms for the space of thir- 
ty days. 

Resolved. That a copy of the above resolution be sent to 

Keating Simons, Esq. the father of the lamented Colonel 
Simons, previous to the publication thereof, as a testimony of 
their respect and affection for his departed Son. 

Ilesolved, That the Members of th's Bar do attend when the 
Eulogy on their late Brother, Col. Simons, shall be delivered 
hy John Gad ^,den, Esq. a Member of the "American Revolu- 
tion Society," and of this Bar, by appointment of the said 
Society. 

Resolved, That the above Resolutions be published in all the 
Gazettes in this city. 



WWWW^^i^'^^'«ii^^ I 



\^id^>iSj^'is£^^%A'^>ds^^k^^ 



EULOGY. 



JLT is a pious office to " scatter sweets" upon the 
tomb of a friend, but it is a still more pious office 
to endeavour to snatch from the grave those virtues 
whose memory must perish bat for a faithful record,, 
and to preserve them for our own age and for pos- 
terity, that they may be the themes of meditation 
and the models of imitation; that they may per- 
petuate themselves in the feelings and actions of 
others ; and that thus the dead, if we may so say, 
may be raised again by their virtues in another race. 

The duty which has been assigned to me on the 
present occasion, is to awaken your recollection to 
the life and virtues of that distinguished citizen and 
excellent man, KEATING LEWIS SIMONS. 
Happy should I have been, had this appointment 
devolved on one of his earlier cotemporaries, who, 
knowing him from his youth and having observed 
the rise of his fortune, the enlargement of his mind 
and the growth of his virtues, could have furnished 
a livelier and more feeling portrait of him, for this 
melancholy meeting. His death is indeed a public 
calamity. When I consider the feelings of a com- 
munity, among whom he had ceased to number an 
enemy; when I observe the almost universal grief 

B 



6 

which pervades our city, flowing not merely from 
a general sympathy w ith a bereaved parent and sor- 
rowing relatives, but from a personal connection 
with the deceased : the tears of heart stricken friends 
and grateful clients; the widow, the orphan, and 
the oppressed ; those whose estates have been pre- 
served, and those reputations have been purified by 
his eloquence : and, when I call to mind the time 
of his death, in the freshness and perfection of his 
faculties, and at the summit of his fortune, whence 
he looked forward to a long life of eminent useful- 
ness, and domestic endearment : Under the weight 
of this accumulation of aillicting topics, I feel my- 
self unequal to the situation in which I am placed ; 
and I must throw myself upon that good opinion, 
to which I owe the present appointment, while I 
endeavour to speak of our friend as he was: believing 
that to delineate his character fairly, will be at once 
to pay the justest tribute to his memory and to 
perform an essential service to the community. 

Keating L. Simons was born in this State, on 
the nth of March, in the year 1775, and received 
his education in this city. lie was emphatically the 
child of our own Carolina, the pupil of our beloved 
Charleston. Even at school he discovered that 
energy and perseverance for which he was distin- 
guished through life. He was placed under the 
instruction of Mr. Osborn, who then kept one of 



■7 
the best grammar schools that has ever been in our 
city. After leaving school, he entered upon the 
study of the law in the office of the honorable 
Edward Rutledge. It w\as probably to this con- 
nection that we owe the high character and great at- 
tainments of our excellent friend. Cowley's fond- 
ness for poetry is said to have been first excited by 
the perusal of Spenser's Fairie (iueen; and Sir 
Joshua Reynolds by the accidental reading of 
Richardson on painting, was first led to the study 
of that art, in which he attained such eminence. 
The fine genius, the noble nature, the amiable tem^ 
per and the exalted reputation of Mr. Rutledge, 
would naturally make an impression upon a gene- 
I'ous and aspiring youth. The Romans were so 
sensible of the importance of high examples in edu- 
cation, that it was a part of their discipline to place 
their youth under the eye and care of some distin- 
guished orator. 

In the dialogue on the causes of the decline of 
the Roman Eloquence, the author thus speaks of 
that ancient practice: " Our ancestors, (says he) 
" when they designed a young man for the profes- 
*• sion of eloquence, having previously taken due 
" care of his domestic education, and seasoned his 
" mind with useful knowledge, introduced him to the 
" most eminent orator in Rome. From that time 
*• the youth commenced his constant follower, at- 

B2 



8 

^' tending him upon all occasicns, whether he ap- 
*^ peared in the public assemblies of the people, or 
^^ in the courts of civil judicature. Thus he learn- 
" ed, if I may use the expression, the arts of ora- 
" torical conflict in the very field of battle." 

But it was not eloquence alone that our friend 
learnt under this master. It is the historian of the 
Revokition, the venerable Ramsay, who thus speaks 
of the professional character cf Mr. Rutledge: 
" In the practice of the law, Edward Rutledge was 
'• directed by the most upright and generous princi- 
<• pies. To advance his personal interest, was a 
'^ secondary object ; to do good, to promote peace, 
" to heal breaches, to advance justice, was a prima- 
'- ry one. His powers of persuasion were not to 
'- be purchased to shield oppression, or to support 
" iniquity. Yf here he thought his client had justice 
" on his side, he would go all lengths in vindicating 
'- his claims ; but Vv^ould not support any man, how- 
" ever liberal, in prosecuting unfounded claims, or 
" resisting those that were substantially just. He 
'' abhorred the principle, that an advocate should 
" take all advantages for his client and gain what- 
" ever he could for him, whether right or wrong; 
" or on the other hand, should assist him with all 
" the quirks and quibbles which ingenuity can 
" contrive, or the forms of law permit, for defeat- 
" ing or delaying the claims of substantial justice." 



9 

Those who arc acquainted with Mr. Simoos's 
professional course, can hardly fail to observe its 
resemblance to this faithful and animated lecord. 
Among other obligations which our state owes to this 
distinguished citizen, it ought perhaps now to add, 
as a fresh debt, the virtues and attainments of a 
Simons. In his character it is a fine trait, that he 
seems to have thought that he never could be too 
grateful to his preceptor and his friend. Such an 
example is highly encouraging to that patronage of 
rising virtue and genius, which the best men m ail 
ages have delighted to exercise, and of which in 
our times we have had so many fine examples in 
our city. Before this audience it is hardly possible 
to dwell too long upon such a theme; and if we 
can suppose the deceased to participate at all in this 
tribute, the memorial of his gratitude would give 
the highest satisfaction to his generous spirit. Per- 
mit me then to add, that of his preceptor and friend 
he delighted to speak ; and that in the language of 
eloquence and affection in a public oration, describes 
Mr. Ilutledge <^ as the sweet model of manly grace 
" and excellence; the early and eloquent asscrter of 
" his country; the favored son of genius, framed in 
" the prodigality of nature, benign, wise, am.iable 
'' and magnanimous; bev/ailed by all who loved 
" philanthropy or delighted in elegance; by all \\ ho 
'^ could admire the ornaments, or rejoice in the bene- 
f* factors of their countrv." 



10 

Such reverence merits the lofty praise of J avenal: 
— tenuem et sine pondere terrain 



Spirantesque crocos et in urna perpetuum ver 
Qui proeceptorem sancti voluere parentis 
Esse loco.* 

Mr. Simons, having made the choice of Hercu- 
les, having determined to attain a high and virtuous 
fame, was sensible that the severest and most con- 
stant labor would be necessary to carry him to the 
goal of his desires. 

*' Love, fame, esteem, 't*B labor must acquire, 

" The emiling offspring of a rigid sire." Siien stone 

His aspiring and energetic mind gave him confi- 
dence in his powers. With an herculean robustness 
of understanding and nerves not to be broken by 
labor, he could, like the great Montesquieu, look 
forward to the prize after the toils of tv/enty years. 
]^^o defects of education, no difficulty in learning 
could impede his steady march; nor could the ear- 
lier success of more gifted candidates for fame dis- 
hearten him. His physical constitution enabled 
him to pursue, for years, and in the most sultry 

* Tiiis, vrith a change of person, inny be thus translated, 
and applied to the deceased : — ■ 

The turf shall gently on hl?5 bosom press, 
Sweet breathing flowers his sacred urn shall dress* 
And Spring eternal cheer his pious shade, 
Who iilial reverence to his teacher paid. 



11 

seasons, by night as well as by day, a course of 
the most rigid application. Often in our summer 
nights, when the heat allowed other persons to at- 
tend only to their personal comfort, has he been 
found in his study, engaged with the learning of 
Coke and of Plowden. if, hke the younger Cato, 
his apprehension was slow, and his learning came 
with difficulty, what he had once learnt he long 
retained ; for as Plutarch observes, " It is indeed a 
" common case for persons of quick parts to have 
" weak memories, but what is gained with labor 
" and application is always retained the longest; ibr 
*^ every hard gained acquisition of science is a kind of 
*' annealing on the mind.*' In preparing himself for 
the bar, he did not confme himself to the munici- 
pal law; though lie pursued only such learning as 
was connected in some way with law and politics; 
and if we may judge from his liberal practice, his 
manly eloquence, and his enlarged reasonings, he 
was not unmindful of the splendid course prescribed 
by the eloquent Bolingbroke, who says of the law, 
" that it is a profession in its nature the noblest and 
^^ most beneficial to mankind, in its abuse and de- 
" basement the most sordid and the most pernicl- 
^^ ous." And after animadverting upon the pleaders 
of his day, adds, " but there have been lawyers that 
'*• were orators, philosophers & historians; there have 
*•' been Bacons and Clarendons; tliere will be none 
<^ such any more, till in some better age true ambi- 



12 

** tion or the love of fame prevail over avarice, and 

*^ till men find leisure and encouragement for the ex- 

<* ercise of this profession, by climbing up to the 

" vantage ground, so my Lord Bacon calls it, of 

" science, instead of grovelling all their lives below, 

" a mean but gainful application to all the little arts 

" of chicane." 

Mr. Simons did not allow his ambitious views, 
and his close application to his studies, to interfere 
Vv'ith his social relations; and while preparing for 
the bar, he, by his generous and amiable temper, 
laid the foundation of those friendships which have 
constituted so much the happiness of his life. It is 
delightful to hear the companions of his youth, 
ranking now among our most esteemed citizens, 
speak of their deceased friend. The honors of ge- 
nius seem almost to fade away before such praise; 
for, in tliis short and uncertain life, is it not better to 
be loved than respected? Of one of the greatest 
geniuses of the age, it was said, by a cotemporarj-, 
" that he vras born to be loved;" a tribute more 
grateful than the loftiest panegyric. 

On the 23d of May, 1796, the deceased Vv^as ad- 
mitted to the bar; and, in a short time after, he ap- 
peared in the court as an advocate. 

If he did not rise immediately in his profession, 
it must be recollected, tliat there vrere tlien at the 



h 

Charleston bar, some of the most eminent men in 
the state; men eqaaliy dlstinguijshed for intellect 
and learning. He still continued to pursue the 
«ame course of laborious application, and by the 
most solid acquirements laid the foundation of that 
high professional eminence which he at length at- 
tained. His legd learning was extensive and exact. 
In his opinions his clients co ild place the greatest 
confidence, for they were the result, not merely of 
his general knowledge of law, however deep, but 
of a scrupulous investigation of the particular case. 
In conducting ine business of his cLents, he exer- 
cised the slrxiest justice; lie consideied himbclf as a 
person invested wan a trust, or confidciice in 
whom nothing like indiilerence, or neglect, should 
be found. Yet he never suffered his clients to inter- 
fere with his professional courtesies. He was just 
to them without being illiberal to their adversaries 
As an advocate his style of speaking was logical 
and manly. He thoroughly discussed tlse question 
in debate ; placing it in every point of view, and 
fully illustrating it. In the examination of princi- 
ples he displayed an enlarged and investigating mind^ 
and in the application of analogies on questions of 
mere law, he was very successful. The secret of 
eloquence he understood; he was always earnest; 
often pathetic and vehement. In the Court of Ses- 
sions he was eminently distinguished. It was there 
that his humane ^nd generous feelings found a, field 

C 



u 

for their exercise ; and that his pathetic and vehe- 
ment eloquence made an impression on the heart. 
The unhappy victim* of a false honor, and an er- 
roneous piety, found in him a powerful, if not a 
successful advocate. In defence of those, who in 
obedience to the sentiments and manners of the age, 
had incurred the penalty of the law, he spoke with 
a discretion and a spirit, with a reverence for the 
laws and a love of honor, which became so difficult 
and delicate a theme. The impeachment of an of- 
ficer of high rank in our courts, before the Senate 
of this state, gave birth, on the part of the defence, 
to an elaborate and dazzling eloquence, to which 
this state had long been a stranger. Those who 
heard the advocatest of the accused, still recall, with 
delight, the emotions which were then kindled. It 
is to be regretted that no record remains of those 
splendid productions. On that occasion the pro- 
found logic, and the vehement rhetoric of Mr. Si- 
mons, burst forth, like a flood that had been long 
confined, and had been long collecting into a mass 
of waters. It appeared as if the speaker had en- 
joyed, for the first time, an opportunity for the ex- 
ercise of his extraordinary powers. Escaped from 
the little and daily contentions of the forum, his 

* Richard Dennis who was convicted of murder for 
shooting a person who abused Dennis's father, and afterwards 
flogged Dennis with a Cowskin. 

t Cp:. Drayton and Mr. S^mons. 



15 

mind walked forth in its strength and majesty upon 
the higher and wide spread field of public delin* 
queacy. 

Bat it was in the Court of Chancery that Mr, 
Simons^s professional career was most useful. The 
principles of Equity accorded better with his enlar- 
ged and liberal mind, than those of strict law. In 
the investigations of this court, there is more room 
for original reasoning, than in those of the tribunals 
of the common law. The discretionary power, ap- 
proaching almost to legislative authority, exercised in 
a Court of Equity, must give rise to discussions 
founded upon natural reason, or an analogy to other 
powers. Precedents, on many occasions, here, speak 
not at all, or a language which can be only understood 
by enlightened minds. The ablest Chancellor, in 
the exercise of his discretion, may derive aid from the 
arguments of counsel. Lord Eidon has often made 
his acknowledgments to the solicitors of his court; 
and sanctioned by his decrees the reasonings of a 
Romilly. In this aspect of the subject, the plead- 
er not only serves his client, but his country. He 
becomes a political or legislative lawyer, and gives 
his assistance in settling the law of the Court. 
Buch exercises must have admirably agixed with 
the public spirit of our excellent friend ; and those 
%vho are acquainted with the proceedings of cur 

C2 



16 

Court of Chanceiy, know how largely he contri- 
buted to throw light upon some unsettled doctrines, 

la his practice he was the friend of the poor, and 
especially of the widow and ihe orphan. !No one ever 
found that his iaubllity to make compensation, ren- 
dered Mr. Simons less patient, less activ^e and less 
fearless in the prosecution of truth and justice. In- 
deed if he was more zealous for some clients than 
others, it was in those cases in which he expected no 
other reward ihan the approbation of his own mind, 
lie has been known, after hav ing been engaged du- 
ring the morning in the superior Courts, to attend 
in the afternoon before a justice to the defence of a 
poor negro. It is a ^ict well ascertained, that for a 
large poriion of his basiiiess he received no pecunia- 
ry returns. Though not rich, the sacra fames auri^ 
that passion which seems to be swallowing up every 
other in our country, had no charms for him. 

His kindness and courtesy towards the younger 
members of the professioii, will long be remember- 
ed by tiicm. lie encouraged them by his praise, 
and assisted them with his counsel. He regarded 
t lem with a paternal affection, and when the cha- 
ricters of individuals among them have been assail- 
ed, they fouiKi in him an active and a fearless defen-* 
der. 

Hwing spoken of his professional character, I 
shall now notice his poLticul opinions and conduct. 



IT 

He gave an entire preference to republican institu- 
tions, where they could be established, over every 
other form of government. He considered it a 
happiness that he was a citizen of a free state, and 
that he lived under a constitution that allowed a full 
scope for the exercise of all the heroic and generous 
virtues : but he held, that the political duties of aa 
American citizen were of a practical nature. Ab- 
stract discussions, about the forms of government, 
he thought had better be left to the philosophers ; 
while every citizen should do his utmost to preserve 
that enlightened constitution, which it had been our 
good fortune to secure. The noble virtue of pa- 
triotism found, in his generous affections, a conge- 
nial soil. He loved the constitution of his country 
with a Roman reverence. He may be said to have 
been formed for a public man. Though from the 
unhappy differences of party, he was for many 
years kept from a public station ; yet lie carried his 
public spirit into his profession, which he seemed 
to exercise rather for otliers than himself. The 
causes, in which he took the deepest interest, were 
those which had some connection with the general 
welfare, which touched the rights of the citizen, or 
led to an investigation of the principles of the con- 
stitution ; or those which concerned a lesser public^ 
and affected the condition, the feelings, or the ho- 
nor of his friends. When restored to the legisla- 
ture of our state, in which he had held a seat manv 



18 

years ago; can we forget the almost youlhfal ardor 
with which he embarked in the public service. His 
vinwearied diligence, his incess^ant r.clivity, his scund 
judgment, his vehement eloquence, his urbanity 
and generosity won every heart ; and I have heard 
it asserted, by a political opponent, that he was, 
perhaps, the most popular man on the floor. With 
what griei will the event, which we this day deplore, 
be recalled by that respectable body. Melhinks I 
see those who parted from him in admiration of his 
generosity and eloquence, looking with eyes, suffu- 
sed with tears, at his vacant seat, endeavouring to re- 
call his last accents, and to pourtray, in imagination, 
that noble form which is now mouldering ia the 
dust. 

He was the decided friend of the Federal Con- 
stitution. Yaluing that instrument as the Chart of 
the General and Stale povrers; it was the aim of 
his politics to preserve to the federal head its con- 
stitutional authority, and he dreaded an encroach- 
ment of the States much more than a national 
usurpation. He thought it the duty of the federal 
government to exercise its prerogatives fearlessly ; 
and to consult the interest, rather than the wishes 
of the people: be ng satisfied that what was really 
for their good, they v/ould eventually approve. H« 
considered ail diffeicnces of opinions between the 
parties of the country as of no importance, wlica 



19 

compared to the preservation of the Union, the 
liberties and the glory of these States. Obedience 
to the government when acting within its sphere, he 
judged to be the primary duty of the citizen ; and 
in the late contest with Great-Britain, whatever 
might have been his opinion as to the propriety of 
declaring war at that crisis, he decidedly thought 
that when the government had placed the nation in 
a state of war, every heart and hand should unite 
in the glorious prosecution of it. He, with the 
rest of his fellow citizens, labored personally on 
your lines of defence ; and he united himself as 
their commander, to a volunteer company of mili- 
tia. With his characteristic ardor and perseverance 
he applied himself to the military art. That he 
excelled in it, the reputation with v/hich he sustain- 
ed the high rank to which he was advanced, and 
the testimonies of respect which his brother officers 
have rendered to his memory, are the highest 
proofs. 

Though resolute and fervent in the maintainance 
of his political opinions, he never allowed them to 
interfere with his friendships or the courtesies of life. 
He looked upon them as truths connected with the 
welfare of his country, and as docts'ines, by which 
his conduct as a citizen was to be guided; and he 
therefore held them with a firm grasp : but he never 
felt any enmity towards a sincere opposition, or 
met it with bitterness of spirit and exoression. 



20 

In Ills friendships he was warm and constant. 
These he seems to have owed as much to nature as 
to viiLue. There was in him a constitutional warmth 
which fitted him for this coiinection; and his inflex- 
ible disposition preserved the flame to the last. His 
earliest regards continued through life; and there 
were no labors, no fatigues, no dangers, which he 
would not undergo to maintain them. There was 
something romantic in his attachment. It was a 
sacred passion approaching almost to the sanctities 
of religion. It extended itself to the connections 
and the offspring of the person beloved; and che- 
rished the memory of departed worth. 

No man was more free than he was from the taint 
of vanity and affectation. What Tacitus says of 
Agricola, may be applied to him : — 

" Nihil appetere jactatione.** 

His sincerity and self respect, gave to his manners 
at a first view, an appearance of coldness. He had 
not the talent of saying pretty things, or of express- 
ing a great deal when he meant nothing ; but as 
far as politeness consists in a delicate observation of 
the feelings and circumstances of olliers, and in a 
lesser benevolence, he was no stranger to that art. 

In his social relations, he appeared to be very 
much under the influence of his!;h sentiment. He 
not only knew^ he feit his duty* 



21 

Honor, " the noble mind's dislireuishing perfec- 
tion,'' was the lamp of his life. He revolted at 
any thing mean and little and base. He reverenced 
the man within the breast; and dreaded nothing so 
much as to lower and degrade himself in his own 
eyes. It was by " this sensibility of principle, this 
" chastity of honor, which felt a stain as a wound,''* 
that he preserved a scrupulous regard to those mo- 
ral distinctions, which tlie practice of the law is said 
to have a tendency to confound in the mind. I 
have understood that he resolutely refused at the 
last session of the Legislature to be considered as a 
candidate for the office of Judge, because an add*- 
tional seat on the bench had been appointed w^hile 
he was a member of the house, and partly by his 
exertions; and such was his regard to his public sta- 
tion, that he declined being employed in the court 
of appeals at Columbia, and rejected a large fee, 
lest it should interfere with his duties in the legisla- 
ture. The sentiments of a Sydney and a Bayard, 
however neglected in a calculating and an intriguing 
age, had found an asylum in his bosom. 

In the domestic circle, he was a sincere and ten- 
der relative. Sacred be the sorrows of his house! 
the hearts of the community incline towards it; 
and would to heaven that their sympathy could 
bring any relief to the agonized, widowed bosom ! 

* Burke. 

D 



22 
Of the extent of their loss his unhappy children 
cannot now be sensible. His parental affection, his 
judicious superintendence, his careful discipline, can- 
not be supplied ; and it is only by recalling his vir- 
tues, when they begin to feel the privation of them, 
that his sons can be furnished with a faint image of 
that living model after which they might have form- 
ed themselves, had it pleased the divine Disposer of 
events to spare him to his family. However early 
his fate, he has lived long enough to leave them the 
patrimony of his high and endeared name ; and it 
will be the delight of his friends to remember hiva 
in their kindness to his offspring. 

As a son, it was not in vain that he endeavored 
to pay a debt of gratitude, imposed by nature and 
strengthened by affection. His aged parent seemed 
to live again in the merit and hopes of his son. 
How happy and how miserable a father! That 
father had attained a state of felicity, rare in any 
country, and particularly in this inclement clime: 
that father found himself crowned with a double 
reverence, and felt in the respect of his fellow citi- 
zens, not only the testimony to his virtues, but to 
those of his excellent son ; that father who in the 
prosperity of a numerous and virtuous progeny, 
and in the high reputation of his first bom, felt a 
satisfaction which would almost have authorised tlie 
prayer to depart in peace, now finds himself; to 



28 

borrow the language of an eloquent oratc!,* on a 
like melancholy occasion, " stripped of his honors, 
torn up by the roots, and laid prostrate on the 
earth." 

Would it be an exa?;c:eration for the father of such 
a son, to say as the Duke of Ormond did of the 
gallant Osr-ory ? ^' I would not exchange my dead 
son for any living son in Christendom." 

I have said nothing of the failings of the decea- 
sed, not because I wished to exhibit a faultless mon- 
ster; but because it is a subject of greiit delicacy, 
one which it is difficult to handle with propriety, 
and which would ill become rne, or this occasion ; 
and especially because, such as they vreie, his iaih 
ings were open and known; Vvliatever may liave 
been his eiTors, there was nothing like dissimula- 
tion, or hypocrisy in him. Perhaps, also, some 
apology may be due for the m.anner in Avliich I 
have spoken of his virtues; if any llriiip;, in my ac- 
count of him may be tliought to savcLir ofcxapgera- 
iion, I trust it will be ascribed to the warmth of 
friendship, and to the excitement of the .occasion; 
for much as I. reverence the deceaf^ed, I ii'ust I re- 
verence truth more. We are now drawing, my 
fiiends, towards the most painiul part of this dis- 
course; but there is a sentiment whicii he utteredy 
not long before his death, which cusjht first to be 



•^ Burke, 



24 

especially noticed. A friend having spoken to him, 

on tlie prospect of his being invited by his fellow- 
ciiizens, to fill a judicial office, he spoke upon the 
subject, in a manner, which ought ever to endear 
hira to the people. ^* I have (said he) endeavoured, 
'• through life, to deserve the good opinion of my 
^ fellorz-ciiizens, and if, as a mark of their favor, 
" I should be elected to (he bench, I shall with 
^' gratitude remember it as one cf the happiest e- 
^^ vents of my life." 

The last scene of his life harmonized with the 
rest of it. When he thought he must die, he com- 
municated this opinion only to his friend, and hav- 
ing made up his mind to meet his fate, he lay with- 
out murmuring or complaint. Severe bodily pain 
did not restrain his kindness, or even his politeness. 
His thouglits appeared to be emplo3'ed upon others 
rather than hhiisclf. The affliction of his father for 
his death, he dreaded more than death itself. Un- 
der great sufferings, and th.e expectation cf approach- 
ino' dissolution, his benevolence, even to his dipen- 
dents, did not forsake him; and some of his last 
expressions of kindness were addressed to a servant 
—the nurse of bis children. Would it be unrea- 
sonable to ascribe bis composure of mind, and h*s 
aiu.^etionate regard to others, in his last hours, to the 
iniluence of that chrislian philosophy, wliich sus- 
tained the spirit of a IJamiUon: that philosophy,. 



25 
whose Divine origin, I am authorized to say, Mr, 
Simons admitted, and whose moral precepts he re- 
verenced ? 

After making, with the utmost calmness, the most 
considerate arrangements for his family, he expiree' j* 
to use the appropriate description of a friend, with 
the fortitude of Cato, and the serenity of Addison. 

To the history of such a life, and such a death, 
may we not apply the philosophy of Solon? — 

" Futurity (says that sage) canies for every man 
" many various and uncertain events in its hosom. 
" He, therefore, whom Heaven blesses with succe: s 
<^ to the last, is, in our estimation the happy man. 
" But the happiness of him who still lives, and has 
" the dangers of life to encounter, appears to us no 
« better than that of a champion before the comb t 
" is determined, and while the crown is unce: tain." 

Plutarch's liie of solon. 



On the 1st of September, 1819. 



THE i ND. 



